Bacterial host cell for the direct expression of peptides

ABSTRACT

Expression systems are disclosed for the direct expression of peptide products into the culture media where genetically engineered host cells are grown. High yield was achieved with a special selection of hosts, and/or fermentation processes which include careful control of cell growth rate, and use of an inducer during growth phase. Special universal cloning vectors are provided for the preparation of expression vectors which include control regions having multiple promoters linked operably with coding regions encoding a signal peptide upstream from a coding region encoding the peptide of interest. Multiple transcription cassettes are also used to increase yield. The production of amidated peptides using the expression systems is also disclosed.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser.No. 11/076,260, filed Mar. 9, 2005, which is a 35 U.S.C. §119 conversionof U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/552,824, filed Mar. 12, 2004, thecontents of which are specifically incorporated herein.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to direct expression of a peptide productinto the culture medium of genetically engineered host cells expressingthe peptide product. More particularly, the invention relates to cloningvectors, expression vectors, host cells and/or fermentation methods forproducing a peptide product that is excreted outside the host into theculture medium in high yield. In some embodiments, the invention relatesto direct expression of a peptide product having C-terminal glycinewhich is thereafter converted to an amidated peptide having an aminogroup in place of said glycine.

DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART

Various techniques exist for recombinant production of peptide products,i.e. any compound whose molecular structure includes a plurality ofamino acids linked by a peptide bond. A problem when the foreign peptideproduct is small is that it is often readily degradable by endogenousproteases in the cytoplasm or periplasm of the host cell that was usedto express the peptide. Other problems include achieving sufficientyield, and recovering the peptide in relatively pure form withoutaltering its tertiary structure (which can undesirably diminish itsability to perform its basic function). To overcome the problem of smallsize, the prior art has frequently expressed the peptide product ofinterest as a fusion protein with another (usually larger) peptide andaccumulated this fusion protein in the cytoplasm. The other peptide mayserve several functions, for example to protect the peptide of interestfrom exposure to proteases present in the cytoplasm of the host. Onesuch expression system is described in Ray et al., Bio/Technology, Vol.11, pages 64-70, (1993).

However, the isolation of the peptide product using such technologyrequires cleavage of the fusion protein and purification from all thepeptides normally present in the cytoplasm of the host. This maynecessitate a number of other steps that can diminish the overallefficiency of the process. For example, where a prior art fusion proteinis accumulated in the cytoplasm, the cells must usually be harvested andlysed, and the cell debris removed in a clarification step. All of thisis avoided in accordance with the present invention wherein the peptideproduct of interest is expressed directly into, and recovered from, theculture media.

In the prior art it is often necessary to use an affinity chromatographystep to purify the fusion protein, which must still undergo cleavage toseparate the peptide of interest from its fusion partner. For example,in the above-identified Bio/Technology article, salmon calcitoninprecursor was cleaved from its fusion partner using cyanogen bromide.That cleavage step necessitated still additional steps to protectcysteine sulfhydryl groups at positions 1 and 7 of the salmon calcitoninprecursor. Sulfonation was used to provide protecting groups for thecysteines. That in turn altered the tertiary structure of salmoncalcitonin precursor requiring subsequent renaturation of the precursor(and of course removal of the protecting groups).

The peptide product of the invention is expressed only with a signalsequence and is not expressed with a large fusion partner. The presentinvention results in “direct expression”. It is expressed initially witha signal region joined to its N-terminal side. However, that signalregion is post-translationally cleaved during the secretion of thepeptide product into the periplasm of the cell. Thereafter, the peptideproduct diffuses or is otherwise excreted from the periplasm to theculture medium outside the cell, where it may be recovered in propertertiary form. It is not linked to any fusion partner whose removalmight first require cell lysing denaturation or modification, althoughin some embodiments of the invention, sulfonation is used to protectcysteine sulfhydryl groups during purification of the peptide product.

Another problem with the prior art's accumulation of the peptide productinside the cell, is that the accumulating product can be toxic to thecell and may therefore limit the amount of fusion protein that can besynthesized. Another problem with this approach is that the largerfusion partner usually constitutes the majority of the yield. Forexample, 90% of the production yield may be the larger fusion partner,thus resulting in only 10% of the yield pertaining to the peptide ofinterest. Yet another problem with this approach is that the fusionprotein may form insoluble inclusion bodies within the cell, andsolubilization of the inclusion bodies followed by cleavage may notyield biologically active peptides.

The prior art attempted to express the peptide together with a signalpeptide attached to the N-terminus to direct the desired peptide productto be secreted into the periplasm (see EP 177,343, Genentech Inc.).Several signal peptides have been identified (see Watson, M. NucleicAcids Research, Vol 12, No. 13, pp: 5145-5164). For example, Hsiung etal. (Biotechnology, Vol 4, November 1986, pp: 991-995) used the signalpeptide of outer membrane protein A (OmpA) of E. coli to direct certainpeptides into the periplasm. Most often, peptides secreted to theperiplasm frequently tend to stay there with minimal excretion to themedium. An undesirable further step to disrupt or permealize the outermembrane may be required to release sufficient amounts of theperiplasmic components. Some prior art attempts to excrete peptides fromthe periplasm to the culture media outside the cell have includedcompromising the integrity of the outer membrane barrier by having thehost simultaneously express the desired peptide product containing asignal peptide along with a lytic peptide protein that causes the outermembrane to become permeable or leaky (U.S. Pat. No. 4,595,658).However, one needs to be careful in the amount of lytic peptide proteinproduction so as to not compromise cellular integrity and kill thecells. Purification of the peptide of interest may also be made moredifficult by this technique.

Aside from outer membrane destabilization techniques described abovethere are less stringent means of permeabilizing the outer membrane ofgram negative bacteria. These methods do not necessarily causedestruction of the outer membrane that can lead to lower cell viability.These methods include but are not limited to the use of cationic agents(Martti Vaara, Microbiological Reviews, Vol. 56, pages 395-411 (1992))and glycine (Kaderbhai et al., Biotech. Appl. Biochem, Vol. 25, pages53-61 (1997)) Cationic agents permeabilize the outer membrane byinteracting with and causing damage to the lipopolysaccharide backboneof the outer membrane. The amount of damage and disruption can be nonlethal or lethal depending on the concentration used. Glycine canreplace alanine residues in the peptide component of peptidoglycan.Peptidoglycan is one of the structural components of the outer cell wallof gram negative bacteria. Growing E. coli in high concentration ofglycine increases the frequency of glycine-alanine replacement resultingin a defective cell wall, thus increasing permeability.

Another prior art method of causing excretion of a desired peptideproduct involves fusing the product to a carrier protein that isnormally excreted into the medium (hemolysin) or an entire proteinexpressed on the outer membrane (e.g. ompF protein). For example, humanβ-endorphin can be excreted as a fusion protein by E. coli cells whenbound to a fragment of the ompF protein (EMBO J., Vol 4, No. 13A, pp:3589-3592, 1987). Isolation of the desired peptide product is difficulthowever, because it has to be separated from the carrier peptide, andinvolves some (though not all) of the drawbacks associated withexpression of fusion peptides in the cytoplasm.

Yet another prior art approach genetically alters a host cell to createnew strains that have a permeable outer membrane that is relativelyincapable of retaining any periplasmic peptides or proteins. However,these new strains can be difficult to maintain and may require stringentconditions which adversely affect the yield of the desired peptideproduct.

Raymond Wong et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 5,223,407) devised yet anotherapproach for excretion of peptide products by making a recombinant DNAconstruct comprising DNA coding for the heterologous protein coupled inreading frame with DNA coding for an ompA signal peptide and controlregion comprising a tac promoter. This system reports yieldssignificantly less than those achievable using the present invention.

Although the prior art may permit proteins to be exported from theperiplasm to the media, this can result in unhealthy cells which cannoteasily be grown to the desirable high densities, thus adverselyaffecting product yield.

More recently, Mehta et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 6,210,925) disclosedexpression systems for the direct expression of peptide products intothe culture media where genetically engineered host cells are grown.High yield was achieved with novel vectors, a special selection ofhosts, and/or fermentation processes which include careful control ofcell growth rate, and use of an inducer during growth phase. Specialvectors are provided which include control regions having multiplepromoters linked operably with coding regions encoding a signal peptideupstream from a coding region encoding the peptide of interest. Multipletranscription cassettes are also used to increase yield.

The present invention seeks to produce peptide in yet higher yields withan efficient expression vector using novel genetically engineered hostcells. The present invention also seeks to produce efficient expressionvectors using novel universal cloning vectors.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to have a peptideproduct accumulate in good yield in the medium in whichpeptide-producing host cells are growing. This is advantageous becausethe medium is relatively free of many cellular peptide contaminants.

It is another object of the invention to provide genetically engineeredhost cells that are particularly useful in expressing the novelexpression vectors of the invention and having a peptide productaccumulate in good yield in the medium in which peptide-producing hostcells are growing.

It is another object of the invention to provide an improvedfermentation process for increasing the yield of a peptide productexpressed by genetically engineered host cells.

It is a further object of the invention to provide improved methods forthe production of amidated peptides utilizing precursor peptides havingC-terminal glycines, which precursors are amidated following directexpression into the culture medium in accordance with the invention.

Accordingly, the present invention provides a genetically engineered E.coli bacterium deficient in chromosomal genes rec A and ptr encodingrecombination protein A and Protease III, respectively.

The present invention also provides a cloning vector comprising: (a) acontrol region comprising at least two promoters; (b) nucleic acidscoding for a signal sequence; (c) two gene cloning enzyme restrictionsites that allow for the cloning of a gene encoding a peptide in readingframe with said signal sequence and linked operably with said controlregion; (d) at least two cassette cloning enzyme restriction sites 3′from said gene cloning enzyme restriction sites; and (e) at least twocassette cloning enzyme restriction sites 5′ from said control region,wherein all said restriction enzyme sites are different from each otherand unique within said vector.

The present invention further provides a method of preparing anexpression vector containing a plurality of transcription cassettes,each cassette comprising: (1) a coding region with nucleic acids codingfor a peptide product coupled in reading frame 3′ of nucleic acidscoding for a signal peptide; and (2) a control region linked operablywith the coding region, said control region comprising a plurality ofpromoters, said method comprising: (a) cloning into the cloning vectorof the cloning vector of the present invention said coding region withnucleic acids coding for a peptide product in reading frame 3′ ofnucleic acids coding for the signal peptide using the two gene cloningenzyme restriction sites thereby forming an expression cassette withinthe cloning vector; (b) cutting the expression cassette from the cloningvector using a first restriction enzyme that cuts at a cassette cloningenzyme restriction site 3′ from said gene cloning enzyme restrictionsites and a second restriction enzyme that cuts at a cassette cloningenzyme restriction site 5′ from said gene cloning enzyme restrictionsites; (c) ligating the expression cassette into a template expressionvector containing the cassette cloning enzyme restriction sites of step(b) such that the first restriction enzyme site is 3′ from the secondrestriction enzyme sites wherein said template expression vector: (i)has been ligated with the first and second restriction enzymes, and (ii)contains at least one more pair of cassette cloning enzyme restrictionsites, such as that first member of the pair is identical to a cassettecloning enzyme restriction site 3′ from said gene cloning enzymerestriction sites of claim 4 and the second member of the pair isidentical to a cassette cloning enzyme restriction site 5′ from saidgene cloning enzyme restriction sites of claim 4 wherein the firstmember of the pair is 3′ from the second member of the pair and thateach cassette cloning enzyme restriction site is unique to the templatevector and no other cassette cloning enzyme restriction site of claim 4falls in an area 5′ of the first and 3′ of the second cassette cloningenzyme restriction sites, or in an area 5′ of the first member of thepair and 3′ of the second member of the pair of cassette cloning enzymerestriction sites; and (d) repeating steps (b) and (c) at least once butusing restriction enzymes that cut the first member and the secondmember of any one of the pair of cassette cloning enzyme restrictionsites instead of the first and second restriction enzymes of step (b).

The present invention also provides an E. coli host cell deficient inchromosomal genes rec A and ptr encoding recombination protein A andProtease III, respectively, said host containing and expressing anexpression vector which comprises a plurality of transcription cassettesin tandem, each cassette comprising: (1) a coding region with nucleicacids coding for a peptide product coupled in reading frame 3′ ofnucleic acids coding for a signal peptide; and (2) a control regionlinked operably with the coding region, said control region comprising aplurality of promoters.

The present invention further provides a method of producing a peptideproduct which comprises culturing the host cell of the present inventiontransformed or transfected with the expression vector of the presentinvention in a culture medium and then recovering the peptide productfrom the medium in which the host cell has been cultured.

The present invention also provides a method of producing an amidatedpeptide product comprising the steps of: (a) culturing the host cell ofthe present invention transformed or transfected with the expressionvector of the present invention in a culture medium wherein the peptideproduct includes a C-terminal glycine; (b) recovering said peptideproduct from said culture medium; and (c) converting said peptideproduct to an amidated peptide by converting said C-terminal glycine toan amino group.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1A, 1B and 1C show a schematic diagram of the construction of thepUSEC-03 vector (1A) which is used in the construction of the pUSEC-05vector (1B) which is in turn used in the construction of vectorpUSEC-05IQ (1C) (ATCC Accession Number PTA-5567).

FIGS. 2A and 2B show a schematic diagram of the construction of thepCPM-00 vector (2A) which is used in the construction of the pUSEC-06vector (2B)(ATCC Accession Number PTA-5568).

FIGS. 3A, 3B and 3C show a schematic diagram of the ligation of ageneric peptide termed peptide X into the secretion expression vectorpUSEC-05IQ (3A) to generate vector pPEPX-01 which is used along withvector pUSEC-06 to construct a monogenic production vector pPEPX-02 (3B)which is used to construct a digenic production vector pPEPX-03 (3C). Inlike manner, the construction of a trigenic vector would be accomplishedby cutting the expression cassette from pPEPX-01 with SacII and B1PI andthen ligating the cassette into pPEPX-03 digested with the same sites.The trigenic vector would, thus, be pPEPX-04.

FIG. 4 shows a schematic diagram of the construction of the pSCT-038vector. pSCT-038 was used to transform E. coli BLR and BLM-6 and producethe digenic UGL 703 and UGL801 clones, respectively.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention permits peptide product yields in excess of 100 mgper liter of media. It does so with novel hosts (as transformed,transfected or used in accordance with the invention), novelfermentation processes, or a combination of two or more of theforegoing.

Host Cell

The present invention provides a host cell transformed or transfectedwith any of the vectors of the present invention. The host cell is agenetically engineered E. coli bacterium deficient in chromosomal genesrec A and ptr encoding recombination protein A and Protease III,respectively.

Preferably, the genetically engineered E. coli bacterium is a BLR strainwhich already is deficient in chromosomal gene rec A. More preferably,the host cell of the present invention is a mutant BLR strain BLM6having ATCC accession number PTA-5500.

Overview of Preferred Universal Cloning Vectors

The present invention also provides universal cloning vectors that allowfor the simple construction of expression vectors such as the preferredexpression vector of the present invention as indicated below.

pUSEC-05IQ Vector

One preferred universal cloning vector is the pUSEC-05IQ plasmid whichis designed for the cloning of genes coding for peptides. The pUSEC-05IQvector (FIG. 3C) contains the dual promoter block of tac and lacfollowed by the ompA signal sequence. Directly adjacent to the signalsequence are the unique restriction sites Stu I and Nco I that allow forthe cloning of genes encoding peptides in frame with the signalsequence. Downstream of the multiple cloning site is the dual rrnB T₁ T₂transcription terminator. The vector also carries a copy of the genecoding for the LacI^(Q) repressor for regulation of the tac and lacpromoters. The plasmid carries the ampicillin resistance gene forselection. The vector was constructed using pSP72 as the base plasmid,which carries the pUC origin of replication. The expression cassettecontaining the dual promoters, ompA signal, cloned peptide gene andtranscription terminators can be cut from the vector with the use ofthree unique restriction sites located upstream and downstream of thecassette.

The utility of this vector has two components. The first utilitycomponent is in the use of this vector as a universal expression vectorfor the secretion of heterologous polypeptides. Using the cloning siteslinked in frame with the ompA signal sequence any heterologous gene canbe cloned and expressed as a secreted product. This function could beused for the rapid screening of potential gene targets without the needfor cell lysis to look for expression. This utility is based on thedesired function of cloning and expressing peptides that are expressed,secreted and transported via diffusion to the culture medium. The secondutility component resides in the use of the six restriction sites thatare used for the excision of the expression cassette. These sites areused in combination with a second vector for the cloning of multiplecopies of the expression cassette for increased expression levels.

pUSEC-06 Vector

Another preferred universal cloning vector is the pUSEC-06 plasmid whichacts as a secretion enhancement production vector for the cloning of upto three copies of the expression cassette cloned into pUSEC-05IQ. ThepUSEC-06 vector shown in FIG. 2 contains the same six unique restrictionsites flanking the expression cassette found in pUSEC-05IQ. The sixsites are grouped in three pairs that can be used for individuallycloning separate copies of expression cassettes. The vector contains thegenes coding for the secretion factors SecE and prlA-4 (a mutant alleleof SecY). The lac promoter controls the SecE gene expression and thetrpA promoter controls expression of the prlA-4 gene. Tandem rrnB T₁ T₂transcription terminators are located downstream of the SecE and prlA-4genes. The plasmid carries a copy of the LacIQ repressor for regulationof promoters using the lac operator sequences. The kanamycin resistancegene is encoded on the vector for selection. As with pUSEC-05IQ the basevector for pUSEC-06 was pSP72 carrying the pUC origin of replication.

As with pUSEC-05IQ the utility of pUSEC-06 has two components. ThepUSEC-06 vector acts as a production vehicle for increased expression ofsecreted proteins. The presence of the SecE and prlA-4 genes amplify therate of secretion by increasing two of the integral components, of theSec machinery. SecE and SecY(prlA) form the translocation domain forsecretion of proteins, therefore increasing the level of these twofactors increases the number of translocation domains. With an increasein translocation ability, over expressed secretion targeted proteins canbe secreted across the periplasmic membrane with greater efficiency. Thefinal result is a greater accumulation and recovery of processed peptidefrom the conditioned growth medium.

The second utility relates to pUSEC-05IQ. The six unique restrictionsites in both pUSEC-05IQ and pUSEC-06 form the basis for the cloning ofmultiple expression cassettes. With the methodology described in theattached schematic up to three copies of the secretion expressioncassette can be cloned creating mono, di and trigenic expression clones.The schematic represents the complete cloning of a peptide through thecreation of a digenic expression vector. This novel method of increasinggene dosage on a vector could be applied to other expression systems aswell.

A list of all gene components for pUSEC-05IQ and pUSEC-06 are given inTable 1.

TABLE 1 gene components for pUSEC-05IQ and pUSEC-06 Vector ComponentsComponent type Origin or template Tac promoter DNA block PharmaciaBiosciences Kanamycin resistance gene Gene block Pharmacia BiosciencesAmpicillin resistance gene Plasmid encoded PSP72 RRNB T1-T2 PCR fragmentRibosomal protein gene T1 and T2 transcription terminators from pKK233-2 Lac repressor (Lac^(IQ)) PCR amplified gene pGEX 1-N plasmid Lacpromoter/operator PCR amplified fragment PGEM11ZF + ompA signal sequencePCR amplified product pIN IIIA SEC E PCR amplified gene E. coli WA 837genomic DNA PRLA-4* PCR amplified gene Vector pRLA41 TRP P/O Assembledsynthetic E. coli tryptophan E promoter/ oligonucleotide gene operatorSequence from literature *PRLA-4 gene is a mutant allele of the prlA(SecY) gene.Overview of a Preferred Expression Vector

The present invention further provides an expression vector whichcomprises a coding region and a control region that can easily beconstructed using the above preferred universal cloning vectors (FIGS.3A-3C). The coding region comprises nucleic acids for a peptide productof interest coupled in reading frame downstream from nucleic acidscoding for a signal peptide. The control region is linked operably tothe coding region and comprises a plurality of promoters and at leastone ribosome binding site, wherein at least one of the promoters isselected from the group consisting of tac and lac.

Preferably, the vector comprises a plurality of transcription cassettesplaced in tandem, each cassette having the control region and the codingregion of the present invention. Such a digenic vector or multigenicvector is believed to provide better expression than would a dicistronicor multicistronic expression vector. This is a surprising improvementover dicistronic or multicistronic expression which is not believed tobe suggested by the prior art.

The vector can optionally further comprise nucleic acids coding for arepressor peptide which represses operators associated with one or moreof the promoters in the control region, a transcription terminatorregion, a selectable marker region and/or a region encoding at least onesecretion enhancing peptide. Alternatively, in some embodiments, nucleicacids coding for a repressor peptide and a secretion enhancing peptidemay be present on a separate vector co-expressed in the same host cellas the vector expressing the peptide product.

Specific examples of constructed expression vectors, and methods forconstructing such expression vectors are set forth intra. Manycommercially available vectors may be utilized as starting vectors forthe preferred vectors of the invention. Some of the preferred regions ofthe vectors of the invention may already be included in the startingvector such that the number of modifications required to obtain thevector of the invention is relatively modest. Preferred starting vectorsinclude but are not limited to pSP72 and pKK233-2. However, mostpreferred starting vectors are the cloning vectors of the presentinvention which include pUSEC-051Q and pUSEC-06 universal directexpression cloning vectors as describes hereinbelow.

It is believed that the novel vectors of the invention impart advantageswhich are inherent to the vectors, and that those unexpected advantageswill be present even if the vectors are utilized in host cells otherthan the particular hosts identified as particularly useful herein, andregardless of whether the improved fermentation process described hereinis utilized.

The novel fermentation process is believed to provide increased yieldbecause of inherent advantages imparted by the fermentation process. Itis believed that these advantages are particularly apparent when thepreferred host cells and/or novel vectors described herein are utilized.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, one preferred embodiment of the inventionsimultaneously utilizes the improved expression vectors of the inventiontransformed into the particularly identified host cells of the inventionand expressed utilizing the preferred fermentation invention describedherein. When all three of these inventions are used in combination, itis believed that a significant enhancement of yield and recovery ofproduct can be achieved relative to the prior art.

The Control Region

The control region is operably linked to the coding region and comprisesa plurality of promoters and at least one ribosome binding site, whereinat least one of the promoters is selected from the group consisting oflac and tac. It has surprisingly been found that the foregoingcombination of promoters in a single control region significantlyincreases yield of the peptide product produced by the coding region (asdescribed in more detail intra). It had been expected that two suchpromoters would largely provide redundant function, and not provide anyadditive or synergistic effect. Experiments conducted by applicants havesurprisingly shown a synergy in using the claimed combination ofpromoters. Other promoters are known in the art, and may be used incombination with a tac or lac promoter in accordance with the invention.Such promoters include but are not limited to lpp, ara B, trpE, gal K.

Preferably, the control region comprises exactly two promoters. When oneof the promoters is tac, it is preferred that the tac promoter be 5′ ofanother promoter in the control region. When one of the promoters islac, the lac promoter is preferably 3′ of another promoter in thecontrol region. In one embodiment, the control region comprises both atac promoter and a lac promoter, preferably with the lac promoter being3′ of the tac promoter.

The Coding Region

The coding region comprises nucleic acids coding for a peptide productof interest coupled in reading frame downstream from nucleic acidscoding for a signal peptide whereby the coding region encodes a peptidecomprising, respectively, from N terminus to C terminus the signal andthe peptide product. Without intending to be bound by theory, it isbelieved that the signal may provide some protection to the peptideproduct from proteolytic degradation in addition to participating in itssecretion to the periplasm.

Many peptide signal sequences are known and may be used in accordancewith the invention. These include signal sequences of outer membraneproteins of well-characterized host cells, and any sequences capable oftranslocating the peptide product to the periplasm and of beingpost-translationally cleaved by the host as a result of thetranslocation. Useful signal peptides include but are not limited to OmpA, pel B, Omp C, Omp F, Omp T, β-la, Pho A, Pho S and Staph A.

The peptide product is preferably small enough so that, absent thepresent invention, it would usually require a fusion partner using priorart technology. Typically, the peptide product has a molecular weight ofless than 10 KDa. More preferably, the peptide product has a C-terminalglycine, and is used as a precursor to an enzymatic amidation reactionconverting the C-terminal glycine to an amino group, thus resulting inan amidated peptide. Such a conversion is described in more detailinfra. Numerous biologically important peptide hormones andneurotransmitters are amidated peptides of this type. For example, thepeptide product coded by the coding region may be salmon calcitoninprecursor or calcitonin gene related peptide precursor, both of whichhave C-terminal glycines and both of which may be enzymatically amidatedto mature salmon calcitonin or mature calcitonin gene related peptide.Other amidated peptides that may be produced in accordance with theinvention include but are not limited to growth hormone releasingfactor, vasoactive intestinal peptide and galanin. Other amidatedpeptides are well known in the art.

Analogs of parathyroid hormone could also be produced in accordance withthe invention. For example, a peptide having the first 34 amino acids ofparathyroid hormone can provide a function similar to that ofparathyroid hormone itself, as may an amidated version of the 34 aminoacid analog. The latter may be produced by expressing, in accordancewith one or more of the expression systems and methods described herein,the first 34 amino acids of parathyroid hormone, followed by glycine-35.Enzymatic amidation as disclosed herein could then convert the glycineto an amino group. Other analogs of parathyroid hormone are alsopreferred, such as human parathyroid hormone analogs PTH 1-30 and PTH1-31, in either amidated or non-amidated form.

While preferred embodiments of the direct expression system describedherein produce peptides having C-terminal glycine, it is believed thatany peptide will enjoy good yield and easy recovery utilizing thevectors, hosts and/or fermentation techniques described herein.

Other Optional Aspects of a Preferred Vector of The Invention or ofOther Vectors to be Expressed in the Same Host as the Vector of theInvention Repressor

Optionally, the preferred vector of the present invention may containnucleic acids coding for a repressor peptide capable of repressingexpression controlled by at least one of the promoters. Alternatively,however, the nucleic acids coding for a repressor peptide may be presenton a separate vector in a host cell with the vector of the presentinvention. Appropriate repressors are known in the art for a largenumber of operators. Preferably, the nucleic acids coding for therepressor encode a lac repressor in preferred embodiments of theinvention because it represses the lac operator that is included withboth tac and lac promoters, at least one of which promoters is alwayspresent in preferred vectors of the invention.

Selectable Marker

It is preferred that any of a large number of selectable marker genes(e.g. a gene encoding kanamycin resistance) be present in the vector ofthe present invention. This will permit appropriate specific selectionof host cells that are effectively transformed or transfected with thenovel vector of the invention.

Secretion Enhancing Peptide

Nucleic acids coding for at least one secretion enhancing peptide areoptionally present in the vector of the present invention.Alternatively, the nucleic acids coding for a secretion enhancingpeptide may be present on a separate vector expressed in the same hostcell as the vector encoding the peptide product. Preferably, thesecretion enhancing peptide is selected from the group consisting ofSecY (prlA) or prlA-4. It is pointed out that SecY and prlA areidentical, the two terms being used as synonyms in the art. prlA-4 is aknown modification of prlA and has a similar function. Another preferredsecretion enhancing peptide is SecE also known as “prlG”, a term used asa synonym for “SecE”. Most preferably, a plurality of secretionenhancing peptides are encoded, at least one of which is SecE and theother of which is selected from the group consisting of SecY (prlA) andprlA-4. The two are believed to interact to aid translocation of thepeptide product from cytoplasm to periplasm. Without intending to bebound by theory, these secretion enhancing peptides may help protect thepeptide product from cytoplasmic proteases in addition to theirsecretion enhancing functions.

Method of Producing a Heterologous Peptide

Novel fermentation conditions are provided for growing host cells tovery high cell densities under culture conditions which permit thediffusion or excretion of the peptide product into the culture medium inhigh yield.

Host cells useful in the novel fermentation include but are not limitedto the host cells discussed supra, and/or host cells transformed ortransfected with one or more of the novel expression vectors discussedsupra. Other host cells genetically engineered to express peptideproduct together with a signal region may be used. The cells are placedin a fermenter which preferably includes appropriate means of feedingair or other gases, carbon source, and other components to the media andmeans for induction of the promoter. Appropriate means for monitoringoxygen content, cell density, pH and the like are also preferred.

Applicants have found that significantly improved yield of peptideproduct directly expressed into the culture medium is obtained bycarefully controlling the average cell growth rate within a criticalrange between 0.05 and 0.20 doublings per hour. It is preferred thatthis controlled growth begin in early lag phase of the culture. It ismore preferable to maintain average cell growth rate during thefermentation period (i.e. the period during which growth is beingcontrolled as set forth herein), between 0.10 and 0.15 doublings perhour, most preferably 0.13 doublings per hour. Growth rate may becontrolled by adjusting any of the parameters set forth infra in thesection entitled “Production of sCTgly (Fermentation)”, specifically theformula equating the feed rate “Q” to numerous other parameters.Applicants have found that varying the rate of carbon source being fedto the fermenting cells is an advantageous method of maintaining thegrowth rate within the critical range. In order to maintain the growthrate relatively constant, the amount of carbon source feeding into thefermenter tends to increase proportionally to the growth in number ofcells.

Applicants have also discovered that significantly improved yield can beobtained by providing inducer and vitamins during said fermentationperiod of controlled growth. Like carbon source, feeding proper amountsof inducer involves increasing the rate of feed proportional to growthin number of cells. Since both carbon source and inducer feed preferablyincrease in a manner which is linked to cell growth, applicants havefound that it is advantageous to mix feed and inducer together and tofeed the mixture of the two at the appropriate rate for controlling cellgrowth (with the carbon source), thus simultaneously maintaining acontinuous feed of inducer which stays at a constant ratio relative tothe amount of carbon source. However, it is of course possible to feedcarbon source and inducer separately. Even then, however, if a chemicalinducer that may be toxic to the cells in large amounts is used, it isdesirable that the inducer and carbon source be added during each hourof culturing in amounts such that the weight ratio of the inducer addedin any given hour to the carbon source added in that same hour does notvary by more than 50% from the ratio of the amount of inducer addedduring the entirety of the fermentation process (controlled growthperiod) to amount of carbon source added during the entirety of thefermentation process. The 50% variance is measured from the lower ratioof two ratios being compared. For example, where the ratio of carbonsource to inducer for the entire fermentation is 2 to 1, the ratio inany given hour is preferably no higher than 3 to 1 and no lower than1.333 to 1. It is also possible to induce one or more of the promotersduring growth by other means such as a shift in temperature of theculture or changing the concentration of a particular compound ornutrient.

When external carbon source feed is used as the method of controllingcell growth, it is useful to wait until any carbon sources initially inthe media (prior to external carbon feed) have been depleted to thepoint where cell growth can no longer be supported without initiatingexternal carbon feed. This assures that the external feed has moredirect control over cell growth without significant interference frominitial (non-feed) carbon sources. An oxygen source is preferably fedcontinuously into the fermentation media with dissolved oxygen levelsbeing measured. An upward spike in the oxygen level indicates asignificant drop in cell growth which can in turn indicate depletion ofthe initial carbon source and signify that it is time to start theexternal feed.

It has been unexpectedly found that peptide product yield increases asoxygen saturation of the fermentation media increases. This is true eventhough lower oxygen saturation levels are sufficient to maintain cellgrowth. Thus, during the entire fermentation process, it is preferredthat an oxygen or oxygen enriched source be fed to the fermentationmedia, and that at least 20% and preferably at least 50% oxygensaturation be achieved. As used herein, “oxygen saturation” means thepercentage of oxygen in the fermentation medium when the medium iscompletely saturated with ordinary air. In other words, fermentationmedia saturated with air has an “oxygen saturation” of 100%. While it isdifficult to maintain oxygen saturation of the fermentation mediumsignificantly above 100%, i.e. above the oxygen content of air, this ispossible, and even desirable in view of higher oxygen content providinghigher yields. This may be achieved by sparging the media with gaseshaving higher oxygen content than air.

Significant yield improvement may be achieved by maintaining oxygensaturation in the fermentation medium at no lower than 70%, especiallyno lower than 80%. Those levels are relatively easy to maintain.

Faster agitation can help increase oxygen saturation. Once thefermentation medium begins to thicken, it becomes more difficult tomaintain oxygen saturation, and it is recommended to feed gases withhigher oxygen content than air at least at this stage. Applicants havefound that ordinary air can be sufficient to maintain good oxygensaturation until relatively late in the fermentation period. Applicantshave supplemented the air feed with a 50% oxygen feed or a 100% oxygenfeed later in the fermentation period. Preferably, the host cell iscultured for a period between 20 and 32 hours (after beginningcontrolled growth), more preferably between 22 and 27 hours, morepreferably for about 23-26 hours and most preferably about 24 hours. Theculturing period during controlled growth is divided into two stages: acarbon source gradient feed stage followed by carbon source constantfeed stage of carbon source. The inducer and vitamins are always addedduring both stages. The gradient feed stage is carried out preferablyfor about 12 to 18 hours more preferably about 15 hours while theconstant feed stage is carried out preferably for about 7 to 11 hours,more preferably about 9 hours.

Preferably, the host cells are incubated at a temperature between 20 and35° C., more preferably between 28 and 34° C., more preferably between31.5 and 32.5° C. A temperature of 32° C. has been found optimal inseveral fermentations conducted by applicants.

Preferably, the pH of the culturing medium is between 6.0 and 7.5, morepreferably between 6.6 and 7.0, with 6.78-6.83 (e.g. 6.8) beingespecially preferred.

In preferred embodiments, fermentation is carried out using hoststransformed with an expression vector having a control region thatincludes both a tac and a lac promoter and a coding region includingnucleotides coding for a signal peptide upstream of nucleotides codingfor salmon calcitonin precursor. Such an expression vector preferablyincludes a plurality, especially two, transcription cassettes in tandem.As used herein, the term “transcription cassettes in tandem” means thata control and coding region are followed by at least one additionalcontrol region and at least one additional coding region encoding thesame peptide product as the first coding region. This is to bedistinguished from the dicistronic expression in which a single controlregion controls expression of two copies of the coding region. Thedefinition will permit changes in the coding region that do not relateto the peptide product, for example, insertion, in the secondtranscription cassette, of nucleotides coding a different signal peptidethan is coded in the first transcription cassette.

Numerous carbon sources are known in the art. Glycerol has been foundeffective. Preferred methods of induction include the addition ofchemical inducers such as IPTG and/or lactose. Other methods such astemperature shift or alterations in levels of nutrient may be used.Other induction techniques appropriate to the operator or the promoterin the control region (or one of the plurality of promoters being usedwhere more than one appears in the control region) may also be used.

It is typical that production of peptide product drops significantly atabout the same time that growth of the cells in the fermentation mediabecomes unsustainable within the preferred growth rate discussed supra.At that point, fermentation is stopped, carbon source and inducer feedand oxygen flow are discontinued. Preferably, the culture is quicklycooled to suppress activity of proteases and thus reduce degradation ofthe peptide product. It is also desirable to modify pH to a level whichsubstantially reduces proteolytic activity. When salmon calcitoninprecursor is produced using preferred vectors and host cells of theinvention, proteolytic activity decreases as pH is lowered. Thisacidification preferably proceeds simultaneously with cooling of themedia. The preferred pH ranges are discussed in more detail infra. Thesame assay as is being used for measuring fermentation product can beused to measure degradation at different pH levels, thus establishingthe pH optimum for a given peptide and its impurities.

Recovery of the Heterologous Peptide

The present invention further provides a method for recovering thepeptide product which comprises separating the host cells from theculture medium and thereafter subjecting the culturing medium to atleast one type of chromatography selected from the group consisting ofgel filtration, ion-exchange (preferably cation exchange when thepeptide is calcitonin), reverse-phase, affinity and hydrophobicinteraction chromatography. In a peptide containing cysteine residues,S-sulfonation may be carried out prior to or during the purificationsteps in order to prevent aggregation of the peptide and therebyincrease the yield of monomeric peptide. Preferably, threechromatography steps are used in the following order: ion exchangechromatography, reverse-phase chromatography and another ion exchangechromatography.

After fermentation is completed, the pH of the culture medium isoptionally altered to reduce the proteolytic activity. The assay used tomeasure product production can also be used to measure productdegradation and to determine the best pH for stability. Where salmoncalcitonin precursor is produced in accordance with the invention, a pHbetween 2.5 and 4.0 is preferred, especially between 3.0 and 3.5. ThesepH ranges also are believed to aid retention of salmon calcitoninprecursor on cation exchange columns, thus providing better purificationduring a preferred purification technique described herein.

Also optionally, the temperature of the medium, after fermentation iscompleted, is lowered to a temperature below 10° C., preferably between3° C. to 5° C., most preferably 4° C. This is also believed to reduceundesirable protease activity.

The present invention further provides a method of producing an amidatedpeptide product comprising the steps of: culturing, in a culture medium,any of the host cells of the present invention which express a peptideproduct having a C-terminal glycine; recovering said peptide productfrom said culture medium; amidating said peptide product by contactingsaid peptide product with oxygen and a reducing agent in the presence ofpeptidyl glycine α-amidating monooxygenase, or peptidyl glycineα-hydroxylating monooxygenase. If peptidyl glycine α-amidatingmonooxygenase is not used hereinabove, and if the reaction mixture isnot already basic, then increasing pH of the reaction mixture until itis basic. Amidated peptide may thereafter be recovered from the reactionmixture.

EXAMPLE 1 Identification of Target Genes Responsible for ExtracellularPeptide Product Degradation in Host Cells

Summary

Applicants identified as described below an E. coli metalloprotease thatis responsible for degradation of extracellular sCTgly at a rate of upto 25% per hr during the 18-26 hr post induction phase of the sCTglydirect expression fermentation protocol. Degradation of sCTgly is alsopresent prior to 17 hr at an undetermined rate. Experiments detailedbelow indicated that the protease responsible for the degradation ofsCTgly is protease III from the ptr gene of E. coli.

Introduction

Protease III is 107 kDa zinc metalloprotease that preferentiallydegrades peptides <12 kDa. The literature indicates that the activity ofProtease III resembles properties of chymotrypsin. Protease III cleavesthe B chain of insulin between Tyr-Leu and between Phe-Tyr at a reducedrate. There does not appear to be a critical physiological role forProtease III and its deletion does not cause deleterious effects to thegrowth of the host (Dykstra et al. J. Bacteriol. 163:1055-1059; 1985).Activity of protease III has frequently been found in the growth mediumespecially during periods of increased secretion (Diaz-Torres et al.Can. J. Microbiol. 37: 718-721; 1991). This study summarizes experimentsexamining the loss of our model peptide, sCTgly, due to proteolyticactivity in the culture medium during fermentations, and the mutagenesisof an E. coli strain for elimination of Protease III activity.

Proteolytic Degradation and Identification

Degradation of sCTgly in Conditioned Medium

Conditioned medium samples from both UGL165 (E. coli BLR transformedwith pSCT 029) and UGL703 (E. coli BLR transformed with pSCT 038) DirectExpression fermentations were tested for loss of sCTgly followingremoval of cells and incubation of the medium spiked with sCTgly at 30°C. The concentration of sCTgly in conditioned fermentation medium wasmeasured by CEX HPLC. Table 2 shows the data for a typical test ofsCTgly degradation from a 26 hr medium sample harvested from afermentation of UGL703. Various protease inhibitors, including Bestatin,PMSF, α₂-macroglobulin and EDTA were tested for the ability to reduce oreliminate proteolytic degradation of sCTgly. Only EDTA was able toreduce the proteolytic degradation of sCTgly. EDTA inactivatesmetalloproteases by binding the divalent cations required for activity.Although EDTA was able to reduce proteolytic degradation of sCTgly,there was some residual sCTgly degradation that may be the result ofother less active proteases or by residual protease III activity.

TABLE 2 Inhibition of Proteolytic Degradation by EDTA ControlFermentation 50 mM EDTA Treated Medium Sample Medium Sample % loss %loss Incubation Time at sCTgly % from prev sCTgly % from 30° C. (mg/L)Intact hr (mg/L) Intact prev hr t = 0 minutes 241 100%   0.0% 214 100% 0.0% t = 60 minutes 181 75%   25% 184 86%  14% t = 120 minutes 140 58%23.6% 179 84% 2.7% t = 180 minutes 107 44% 23.6% 168 79% 5.9%

The rate of sCTgly degradation was also examined at ˜18 hr postinduction from a 1.25 L fermentation. Recombinant sCTgly was spiked intothe 18 hr post induction harvested medium to raise the concentration ofsCTgly from 37 mg/L to ˜200 mg/L and incubated for 4 hrs at 30° C., thenanalyzed for sCTgly as above. The results are listed in Table 3.

TABLE 3 Degradation of sCTgly During Fermentation sCTgly concentrationIncubation time 30° C. (mg/L) 0.0 hr 185 2.0 hr 99 4.0 hr 65

By the end of 4 hrs the average degradation of sCTgly per hr in the 18hr sample tested was 21% which is similar to the degradation rates ofsCTgly seen from harvested fermentation medium. This result indicatesthat from 18 hrs post induction the degradation of sCTgly in thefermentation medium may be constant.

Identification of the Primary Extracellular Protease

The previous experiments indicated that the protease responsible for theprimary degradation of sCTgly was a metalloprotease. E. coli ProteaseIII is a periplasmic/extracellular zinc metalloprotease (host (Dykstraet al. J. Bacteriol. 163:1055-1059, 1985; secretion (Diaz-Torres et al.Can. J. Microbiol. 37: 718-721, 1991). The preference for zinc comparedto another divalent cation, magnesium, was tested. Fermentation mediumsamples were pre-incubated with 50 mM EDTA for 20 minutes, then sCTglywas spiked into the sample to a final a concentration of ˜250 mg/L.MgCl₂ or ZnCl₂ was added to different samples at 15 mM and incubated at30° C. for 4 hrs. The concentration of sCTgly was measured as above andthe results are listed in Table 4.

TABLE 4 Divalent Cation Specificity Medium Medium + Hrs alone EDTAMedium + Medium + incu- sCTgly sCTgly EDTA + MgCl₂ EDTA + ZnCl₂ bation(mg/L) (mg/L) sCTgly (mg/L) sCTgly (mg/L) 0.0 175 295 241 244 1.0 155223 219 194 2.0 103 211 199 140 4.0 23 193 175 67

The sCTgly spiked into the untreated control medium was 87% degradedafter the 4 hr incubation time. Pre-treatment of the conditioned mediumwith EDTA prior to addition of sCTgly resulted in a loss of 34%. Theaddition of MgCl₂ and ZnCl₂ resulted in peptide losses of 27% and 72%,respectively. A graph of the degradation results shows similardegradation rates for the control and ZnCl₂ samples, as well as similarrates for the EDTA and MgCl₂ treated samples. The addition of the twodivalent cations for the reactivation of proteolytic activity showedthat zinc was effective, whereas magnesium was not.

In addition to testing the divalent cation specificity of the proteasein question, experiments were performed using E. coli strains KS272 andSF103. E. coli SF103 is a K12 strain in which the ptr gene has beendisrupted (described above). KS272 is the parental strain of SF103,which carries the wild type ptr gene. Fermentation experiments wereperformed testing proteolytic degradation of sCTgly expressed in UGL177(KS272+pSCT 029) and UGL178 (SF103+pSCT 029).

In the first experiment, sCTgly was spiked into 0.5 L non inducedfermentations of UGL177 and 178 at feed time t=0 to a concentration of200 mg/L. A control fermentation of each strain without spiked sCTglywas also run. Samples of conditioned medium from the four fermentationswere collected at 4, 18 and 20 hr post start of feed. By the time the 18hr samples had been taken both cultures had stopped growing and wereshowing signs of cell death and lysis. Due to the growth problems onlythe medium from the 4 hr post feed time point from both UGL177 and 178fermentations were tested for proteolytic activity. The four collected 4hr time point medium samples were spiked with sCTgly to 200 mg/L. ThesCTgly spiked samples were split and one set was treated with EDTA to 50mM, as a control. The 8 samples were incubated for 20 hrs at roomtemperature (a prolonged incubation was used due to the low cell densityat 4 hr post induction). The results of the incubation are listed inTable 5. The sCTgly concentrations from four of the medium samples wereelevated due to the initial sCTgly spiked into the fermentation.

TABLE 5 Proteolytic Degradation of sCTgly From E. coli KS272 and SF103UGL177 UGL178 sCTgly % sCTgly sCTgly % sCTgly Incubation Time (mg/L)loss (mg/L) loss 0.0 hrs 226 0 233 0 20.0 hrs 129 42.8 210 10.1 0.0hrs + EDTA 204 0 198 0 20.0 hrs + EDTA 161 20.9 173 12.4 0.0 hrs* 323 0346 0 20.0 hrs* 212 34.3 316 8.7 0.0 hrs + EDTA* 268 0 281 0 20.0 hrs +EDTA* 219 18 246 12.3 *Fermentation medium samples spiked with sCTgly

The data show a difference in amount of sCTgly degradation inconditioned medium from the protease III minus strain compared to theparental strain. The parental strain exhibited almost four times theloss of sCTgly in conditioned medium samples as compared to the proteaseIII minus strain. The degradation of sCTgly in the parental strain wasapproximately two fold more than the protease III minus strain even whentreated with EDTA, suggesting that degradation in EDTA treated samplesmay be partly due to incomplete inactivation of Protease III.

The second experiment tested the ability of each strain to sustainexpression of sCTgly. The two E. coli strains UGL177 and 178 were grownand induced using a Direct Expression fermentation protocol similar toCBK.025. Conditioned medium samples were collected for analysis at 10,12, 14, 16 and 17 hr post induction. The two fermentation cultures hadsimilar rates of growth confirming that the deletion of the ptr gene didnot impact culture viability. However, as in the above experiment, bothcultures died between 16 and 17 hr post induction. Previous tests of E.coli K-12 strains in the high cell density Direct Expressionfermentation protocol showed decreased culture viability during the midstages of the fermentation protocol. The production of sCTgly for thecollected time points from each culture is listed in Table 6.

TABLE 6 Expression of sCTgly in UGL177 and UGL178 Time post UGL177UGL178 induction sCTgly (mg/L) sCTgly (mg/L) 10.0 hr 0.0 43 12.0 hr 0.046 14.0 hr 0.0 46 16.0 hr 0.0 40 17.0 hr 0.0 34

The results listed in Table V show that only the strain with the ptrgene deleted was able to accumulate sCTgly at quantifiable levels. Theabove results suggest that repression or elimination of E. coli proteaseIII in E. coli production strains should offer an advantage in theproduction of sCTgly.

Estimation of sCTgly Loss Due to Proteolytic Activity

By assuming a conservative loss of sCTgly of 20% per hr during a UGL703(pSCT 038 in BLR) fermentation at 30° C., it is possible to calculatethe total amount of sCTgly lost during the later stages of thefermentation. This projection was based on sCTgly production data fromfermentation 2301-9004 at 17 through 26 hrs post induction. The sCTglyconcentration of each consecutive hour pair was averaged. The averagedsCTgly concentration was then multiplied by 0.2 to calculate the amountof sCTgly that would be degraded assuming an average degradation rate of20% per hour. Assuming that the amount of sCTgly lost during each hr iscumulative, the amount of sCTgly lost per hr and over the course of thenine hr period could be extrapolated. The results of this extrapolationare listed in Table 7.

TABLE 7 Estimated Loss of sCTgly During Fermentation 20% Averagedegradation Time post sCTgly Averaged hr sCTgly level sCTgly induction(mg/L) time points (mg/L) (mg/L) 17.0 hr 21.6 17-18 hr 22.4 4.5 18.0 hr23.2 18-19 hr 24.1 4.8 19.0 hr 25 19-20 hr 42.25 8.5 20.0 hr 59.5 20-21hr 70.15 14.0 21.0 hr 90.8 21-22 hr 95.15 19.3 22.0 hr 99.5 22-23 hr110.0 22.0 23.0 hr 120.5 23-24 hr 139.9 28.0 24.0 hr 159.3 24-25 hr172.2 34.4 25.0 hr 185.1 25-26 hr 186.6 37.3 26.0 hr 188.1 Total sCTgly172.5 mg/L loss

The level of degradation was estimated from the conditioned mediumalone; degradation occurring within the cell cannot be calculated and isnot included. The results shown in Table 7 suggest a loss of sCTgly ofup to 171.5 mg/L over the course of the fermentation. The total sCTglythat would have been produced if the 20% degradation had not occurredcan be estimated at 360 mg/, approximately 91% higher than currentproduction capability using the cell line UGL703.

EXAMPLE 2 Construction of a Protease Deficient E. coli

Disruption of ptr and recA Function in E. coli BL21

E. coli BL21 was modified by introducing disruptions in the codingregions of the ptr gene, encoding Protease III, and the recA gene. UsingP1 transduction, DNA from E. coli SF 103 was packaged in P1 bacteriaphage and used to infect E. coli BL21 cells. The phage cell mixture wasplated on LB agar plates containing chloramphenicol; only cellscontaining the chloramphenicol disrupted ptr gene should have theability to grow in the presence of chloramphenicol. Ten chloramphenicolresistant transductants were also verified for BL21 genetic markers,such as the ability to grow on lactose and streptomycin sensitivity. Theresulting strains BL21Δptr were further modified by P1 transduction withthe E. coli strain BLR, which carries a recA⁻ genotype. The tetracyclinedisrupted recA⁻ gene from BLR was used for transduction of BL21Δptrcreating a BL21 ptr⁻ recA⁻ strain. Twenty BL21 ptr- recA-transductantswere identified. The twenty isolates were given the designations BLM1-20.

Expression Analysis Using E. coli BLM Strains

Eight E. coli BLM strains BLM1-8 were transformed with the sCTglyexpression vector pSCT-038 and given the designation of UGL801. Twoisolates from each transformation were screened for expression of sCTglyin shake flasks. 25 mL of CPM Inoculation Medium I containing 50 ug/mLkanamycin was inoculated with 700 μL from an overnight culture of eachclone. The cultures were grown to an OD 600 nm of 2-3, then induced with150 μM IPTG and grown an additional 4 hrs. The results for the 4 hrsamples and a UGL703 control are listed in Table 8. Six of the UGL801clones were also screened in a 1.25 liter fermentation using the DirectExpression protocol outlined in CBK.025. The results from selectedsamples from each fermentation are listed in Table 9.

Twelve of the clones produced detectable levels of sCTgly in conditionedmedium from shake flask experiments. The level of sCTgly from the twelveclones increased from 3 hr to 4 hr post induction. In contrast theUGL703 control did not show an increase from 3 hr to 4 hr postinduction. The growth of the twelve clones were similar, with theexception of the two UGL801-6 clones, which reached significantly lowercell densities.

TABLE 8 Shake Flask Expression Results for UGL801 Clones sCTgly μg/mLsCTgly μg/mL UGL801 Clone OD 600 nm 4 hr 3 hr 4 hr Tested post inductionpost induction post induction UGL801-1a 13.9 35 48 UGL801-1b 15.9 36 48UGL801-2a 15.76 32 52 UGL801-2b 14.01 31 50 UGL801-3a 16.5 5.8 13UGL801-3b 12.5 8.3 19 UGL801-4a 12.3 39 56 UGL801-4b 11.4 30 51UGL801-5a 17 27 48 UGL801-5b 18.3 21 39 UGL801-6a 8.65 27 31 UGL801-6b8.66 20 31 UGL801-7a 15.3 24 41 UGL801-7b 17.1 19 33 UGL801-8a 19.8 1218 UGL801-8b 19.5 12 26 UGL703 control 15.7 33 35

Six clones (UGL801-1a, 2a, 3a, 4a, 5a, and 6a) were tested forexpression of sCTgly using Direct Expression fermentation protocols, ina 1.25 L fermentation. All of the fermentations produced sCTgly atlevels above 170 mg/L with most reaching maximum production of 200+mg/L. All of the clones except UGL801-6a produced maximum levels ofsCTgly prior to end of the fermentation protocol at 26 hr post induction(see Table 9). Samples from these fermentations contained large amountsof precipitation after pH adjustment to 3.0 as per standard procedures.The single exception to this phenomenon was UGL801-6a, which producedsCTgly up to 26 hr post induction and did not show precipitation inmedium samples adjusted to pH 3.0. UGL801-6a also produced the highestexpression level of sCTgly reaching 256 mg/L in conditioned medium at 26hr post induction. UGL801-6a also had the highest wet cell weight of allthe runs listed in Table 9. Based on data obtained from the testfermentations, UGL801-6a was chosen for further development of sCTglyproduction. The corresponding host strain BLM-6 (ATCC Accession NumberPTA-5500) was used as the preferred cell line for insertion of otherpeptide-gene containing plasmids.

TABLE 9 Productivity Results For UGL801 Fermentations Max wet cell MaxsCTgly weight g/L/hrs production mg/L/hrs UGL801 Clone Reference postinduction post induction UGL801-1a CPM:15:185 116/26 hr 212/25 hrUGL801-2a CPM:15:190 111/26 hr 183/25 hr UGL801-3a CPM:15:210 117/25 hr211/23 hr UGL801-4a CPM:15:200 105/25 hr 226/23 hr UGL801-5a CPM:15:205114/25 hr 180/24 hr UGL801-6a CPM:15:195 153/26 hr 256/26 hr

UGL801-6a is now designated as UGL801 (ATCC Accession Number PTA-5501)and is chosen for further development and scale up for production. TheE. coli host strain BLM-6 (F⁻ ompT hsdS_(B) (r_(B) ⁻m_(B) ⁻) gal dcmΔ(srl-recA)306::Tn10(Tc^(R)) ptr32::ΩCat^(R)) (ATCC Accession NumberPTA-5500), which is the host for UGL801 is be used as the preferred hostfor expression cell lines. Accordingly, BLM-6 was used for insertion ofexpression vectors expressing PTH 1-31 gly and PTH 1-34gly generatingcell lines UGL810 (ATCC Accession Number PTA-5502) and UGL820 (ATCCAccession Number PTA 5569), respectively.

EXAMPLE 3 Fermentation Protocol for UGL801

As indicated above, the plasmid vector, pSCT038, was used to transformthe BLM-6 host strain to yield the UGL801 recombinant cell line. Thedevelopment of optimized fermentation conditions for the new cell line,UGL801, began with the evaluation of the UGL801 cell line to producesCTgly using the UGL703 Direct Expression conditions (the cell line,UGL703, is E. coli BLR harboring the plasmid pSCT038): substrate limitedfed batch fermentation run at 30° C., pH6.6, dO₂>70%, 26 hours ofinduced feed in a medium developed for UGL703. UGL703 in the initial DEfermentation protocol resulted in a volumetric yield of <200 mg/L and aspecific yield of ˜1.3 mg of extracellular sCTgly per gram wet cellweight of cells. Host cell modifications resulted in the host cell,BLM-6, and the recombinant cell line, UGL801, which when tested underthe UGL703 fermentation conditions showed ˜1.3× volumetric increase togreater than 200 mg/L at 26 hours post induction and a 1.2× increase inspecific yield at 26 hours post induction. These data are shown in Table10. The introduction of the UGL801 cell line with its reduced proteasebackground and it's ability to grow and produce un-degraded recombinantprotein earlier in the fermentation were significant improvements inyield and process reliability.

TABLE 10 A comparison of Specific Productivity and VolumetricProductivity of UGL703 and UGL801 with no changes in the fermentationconditions. Specific Productivity Volumetric Productivity Hrs UGL703 DEUGL801 UGL703 DE UGL801 post Fermentation w/UGL703 Fold Fermentationw/UGL703 Fold feed Conditions Conditions Increase Conditions ConditionsIncrease 19 0.4 1.9 5.2 32 164 5.1 20 0.6 55 21 0.6 1.8 3.2 59 182 3.122 1.0 108 23 0.9 1.8 2.0 108 207 1.9 24 1.3 1.7 1.3 160 217 1.4 25 1.31.7 1.3 177 221 1.2 26 1.3 1.6 1.2 184 230 1.3

After directly comparing the results of the two cell lines in the samefermentation protocol, a series of optimization studies of thefermentation parameters was performed, including: increased temperature;changes in Feed/induction program; addition of new media components; andextension of the Feed/induction period.

Increased Temperature

During the development of the new host cell, BLM-6, an investigationinto the characteristics of the protease degradation at the temperatureof fermentation had shown that there was rapid degradation of theglycine-extended peptide at >30° C. when using the predecessor host cellBLR. The new protease deficit strain, BLM-6, had a reduced extracellularprotease array, suggesting that it could be grown at a highertemperature to produce potentially more mass and more product. Whilemaintaining the fermentation pH at 6.6, the temperature of the entirefermentation, both batch and fed-batch stages, was increased to 32° C.The new BLM-6 based recombinant cell line, UGL801, grew well at theincreased temperature and expressed the sCTgly. As seen in Table 11, thevolumetric and specific productivities of the new cell line with theincreased temperature of fermentation were increased.

TABLE 11 The comparison of productivity values of the UGL801fermentation with increased temperature (32° C.) to the initial UGL801fermentation done according to the UGL703 DE fermentation conditions.The fold increase of the specific productivity with the temperatureincrease is also shown UGL801 with UGL703 UGL801 with IncreasedFermentation Conditions Temperature of Fermentation Hrs VolumetricSpecific Volumetric Specific Post Productivity, Productivity,Productivity, Productivity, Fold Feed mg/L mg/gram mg/L mg/gram Increase19 164 1.9 239 3.0 1.5 21 182 1.8 283 3.3 1.8 23 207 1.8 312 3.4 1.9 24217 1.7 298 3.0 1.7 25 221 1.7 276 2.7 1.6 26 230 1.6 286 2.2 1.4

As can be seen in the graphs in FIG. 2, the productivity at theincreased temperature was not stable for the entire fed batch(induction) period of the fermentation protocol. Further developmentalinvestigation was indicated.

Changes in Feed/Induction Program

The exponential feed program developed for the Direct Expressionfermentation procedure of UGL703 (BLR::pSCT038) was altered in anattempt to increase the per cell productivity. The rate of feed mediumaddition was held constant at the feed rate at the 20 hour postinduction time until the end of the run at 26 hours post induction. Theresults of this change are shown in Table 12.

TABLE 12 Comparison of the UGL801 Productivity with the alteration inthe feed program to allow for a constant feed rate between 20 and 26hours post induction. The fold increase of the improvement is alsopresented UGL801, with Increased UGL801 Constant Feed Rate Temperatureof Fermentation 20-26 hours Volumetric Specific Volumetric Specific HrsPost Productivity, Productivity, Productivity, Productivity, FoldInduction mg/L mg/gram mg/L mg/gram Increase 19 239 3.0 255 3.5 1.2 21283 3.3 300 3.8 1.2 22 341 4.2 23 312 3.4 335 3.9 1.1 24 298 3.0 341 4.01.3 25 276 2.7 366 4.0 1.5 26 286 2.2 372 4.0 1.8Addition of New Media Components

It is generally assumed that most vitamins and trace elements necessaryto cell growth are provided for the cell via the addition of a yeastextract. However, as the protein synthesis demands on these recombinantcells were increased, the need for additional vitamins and traceelements was recognized. The feed medium was supplemented with avitamin/trace element mixture; the results of the fermentationexperiments showed that the addition of the mixture offered a level ofstabilization to the fermentation productivity. The productivity andreproducibility with the addition of the vitamin/trace element mixturesuggested that the constant feed period could be extended beyond the 26hours.

TABLE 13 Comparison of the UGL801 Productivity with the addition of amixture of vitamins and trace elements during the entire feed/inductionperiod of 26 hours. The fold increase of the improvement is alsopresented UGL801 Constant Feed Rate UGL801, plus vitamins and 20-26hours trace elements Volumetric Specific Volumetric Specific Hrs PostProductivity, Productivity, Productivity, Productivity, Fold Inductionmg/L mg/gram mg/L mg/gram Increase 19 255 3.5 235 3.2 0.9 21 300 3.8 2883.4 0.9 22 341 4.2 23 335 3.9 336 3.8 1.0 24 341 4.0 350 3.9 1.0 25 3664.0 366 4.0 1.0 26 372 4.0 378 4.0 1.0Extension of the Feed/Induction Period

The feasibility of extending the fermentation period of fed-batch andinduction was evaluated. The basis for the extension was the feed rateat 20 hours when extended to 26 hours showed constant production ofextracellular peptide with minimal increase in the wet cell weight. Thesupplementation of the feed medium with vitamins/trace elementssuggested that the fermentation was sufficiently stable to extend thelength of the induction period to beyond 26 hours. The fermentationfeed/induction period was extended incrementally to 29 hours. Other datasuggested that 29 hours might be the limit of the productive period ofthe fermentation without loss of protein or evidence of cell lysis. Thefermentation feed/induction period was extended to 29 hours at theconstant feed rate established at 20 hours.

TABLE 14 Productivities with the addition of the extended feed/inductionperiod. The fold increase before the extension is constant, however,during the extra three hours the yield continues to increaseapproximately 20% UGL801: Final Optimized UGL801 plus vitamins andFermentation, Constant Feed trace elements 20-29 Hours VolumetricSpecific Volumetric Specific Hrs Post Productivity, Productivity,Productivity, Productivity, Fold Induction mg/L mg/gram mg/L mg/gramIncrease 19 231 3.2 253 3.1 1.0 21 283 3.4 288 3.3 1.0 23 338 3.8 3453.7 1.0 24 356 4.0 364 3.8 1.0 25 381 4.1 385 4.1 1.0 26 403 4.2 409 4.21.0 27 429 4.3 28 436 4.3 29 461 4.5

The fermentation development and optimization for UGL801, E. coliBLM-6::pSCT038, resulted in a 2.6 fold increase in the extracellularproduction of sCTgly per gram (wet cell weight) of cell mass when theproductivity of the cell line under UGL703 conditions was directlycompared to the final optimized productivity of UGL801.

The following Table 15 lists the medium components used in differentfermentations.

TABLE 15 Components Components Components (CPM I media) (UGL 703 BatchMedium) (UGL801 Batch Medium) (NH₄)₂SO₄ (NH₄)₂SO₄ (NH₄)₂SO₄ KH₂PO₄KH₂PO₄ KH₂PO₄ MgSO₄—7H₂O MgSO₄—7H₂O MgSO₄—7H₂O CaC₁₂ CaCl₁₂ CaCl₁₂FeSO₄—7H₂O FeSO₄—7H₂O FeSO₄—7H₂O Na₃ Citrate Na₃ Citrate Na₃ Citrate N-ZCase + N-Z Case + N-Z Case + Hy Yest 412 Hy Yest 412 Hy Yest 412L-methionine L-methionine L-methionine Kanamycin Kanamycin KanamycinGlycerol Glycerol Glycerol Feed Medium Feed Medium Components ComponentsL-leucine L-leucine Kanamycin Kanamycin Glycine Vitamins/Trace ElementsGlycerol Glycine GlycerolConclusion

UGL703 in the Direct Expression fermentation protocol producedextracellular sCTgly at volumetric levels of <200 mg/L and specificproductivity of ˜1.3 mg peptide per gram of wet cell weight of cells.The creation of the host cell BLM-6 offered the first improvement inproductivity by reducing the background level of proteases. When BLM-6was used as the host for the original plasmid vector, pSCT038, theresult was UGL801 with a 20-30% improvement in productivity. Additionalimprovements described in this document were made to the fermentationprotocol to optimize the volumetric and specific productivities. Thefollowing tables are summary comparisons of volumetric and specificproductivities starting with UGL703 and progressing through the new cellline, UGL801, and the four improvements made to optimize thefermentation protocol. The sum of the fermentation improvementsincreased the volumetric productivity of UGL801 2.2 fold comparing dataat 26 hours post induction, while the specific productivity at 26 hourspi increased more than 3 fold (3.2). The extension of the run to 29hours gave ˜12% volumetric increase. There was a 3.46 fold increase inthe specific productivity of the final fermentation protocol for UGL801at 29 hours post induction when compared to the specific productivity at26 hours for UGL703.

TABLE 16 Volumetric Productivity from UGL703 to optimized UGL801Volumetric Productivity UGL801 UGL801 VP VP Hrs according UGL801constant UGL801 UGL801 post UGL703 to VPw/inc feed rate VP plus extendedfeed VP UGL703 temp @20 hrs vit/TE feed rate 19 32 164 239 255 231 25320 55 21 59 182 283 300 283 288 22 108 23 108 207 312 335 338 345 24 160217 298 341 356 364 25 177 221 276 366 381 385 26 184 230 286 372 403409 27 429 28 436 29 461

TABLE 17 Specific Productivity from UGL703 to optimized UGL801 SpecificProductivity UGL801 SP UGL801 UGL801 SP UGL801 constant UGL801 SP Hrspost UGL70 according to SP w/ feed rate SP plus extended feed 3 SPUGL703 inc temp @ 20 hrs vit/TE feed rate 19 0.4 1.9 3.0 3.5 3.2 3.1 200.6 21 0.6 1.8 3.3 3.8 3.4 3.3 22 1.0 4.2 23 0.9 1.8 3.4 3.9 3.8 3.7 241.3 1.7 3.0 4 3.9 3.8 25 1.3 1.7 2.7 4 4.0 4.1 26 1.3 1.6 2.2 4 4.0 4.227 4.3 28 4.3 29 4.5

Although the present invention has been described in relation toparticular embodiments thereof, many other variations and modificationsand other uses will become apparent to those skilled in the art. Thepresent invention therefore is not limited by the specific disclosureherein, but only by the appended claims.

1. A recombinant E. coli host cell UGL801 having ATCC Accession NumberPTA-5501.